Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2009, Page 31
The Violent Outcomes of Ideological Extremism: What
Have We Learned Since Jonestown?1
Janja Lalich, Ph.D.
California State University, Chico
Abstract
On November 18, 1978, one of the most tragic events associate with cults
occurred – the deaths of 913 followers of the Rev. Jim Jones. Disturbing
images of bloated bodies of women, men, and children dead in their jungle
community flashed across the airwaves – images that recur with some
regularity when a cult-related notorious ―incident‖ occurs. Cults were not
unknown to us in 1978, nor was their potential for harm. A decade earlier, for
example, cult leader Charles Manson had orchestrated the brutal murders of
innocent folks in Hollywood, California. But the scope of the loss of life at
Jonestown in Guyana gave us pause. And with some solemnity and sobriety,
we have tried to make sense out of what sometimes appears to be
incomprehensible. While the life trajectory of a cultic group is not entirely – or
even moderately – predictable, it has become clear over time that ideological
extremism holds within it the potential for violent outcomes. This address will
look at some of the events that have taken place in the past 30 years, and
offer a framework of understanding as well as elicit points of interest for
future discussion and research.
People who know of me—rather than knowing me personally—know two things about me: I
have a name that on first glance looks difficult to pronounce, and, for the past 20 years,
I‘ve been studying cults. Let me explain both.
As the daughter of Serbian immigrants—there‘s the first explanation—I wasn‘t supposed to
go to college. My ―old-country‖ father thought girls were put on this earth to get married
and have healthy Serbian babies, preferably boy babies. But I had different dreams and was
fortunate enough to grow up in a time when college was affordable and scholarships were
plentiful. I went off to school and completed a B.A. with Honors at the University of
Wisconsin, followed by a Fulbright fellowship at the Université d‘Aix-en-Provence in the
south of France. Afterward, I decided not to pursue graduate studies and went to live and
work in New York City, then spent four years or so living on a Spanish island, and
eventually settled in San Francisco. It was the late ‘60s-early ‘70s and I was a free spirit,
with lifelong aspirations of being a writer.
Why do I tell you all this? Because then I joined a cult!
If, back in 1974, anyone had ever told me that smart, independent, wise-cracking, hard-
headed me would one day be under someone‘s thumb, I would have surely laughed and
said, ―No, not me!‖ But yes, me—and I give this background in part to shatter the enduring
myth that only the weak-willed and stupid could ever be in a cult.
For 10-plus years I lived in an extremely controlled and restrictive environment, a true
believer in the idea that I had found my destiny and was working toward positive ends. I,
with my comrades, but only because of our leader, was going to change the world—when in
fact about the only thing that got changed was me. And not only was I brainwashed—a
word I use intentionally, and which I‘ll come back to later—but I was one of the main
brainwashers in my group!
The Violent Outcomes of Ideological Extremism: What
Have We Learned Since Jonestown?1
Janja Lalich, Ph.D.
California State University, Chico
Abstract
On November 18, 1978, one of the most tragic events associate with cults
occurred – the deaths of 913 followers of the Rev. Jim Jones. Disturbing
images of bloated bodies of women, men, and children dead in their jungle
community flashed across the airwaves – images that recur with some
regularity when a cult-related notorious ―incident‖ occurs. Cults were not
unknown to us in 1978, nor was their potential for harm. A decade earlier, for
example, cult leader Charles Manson had orchestrated the brutal murders of
innocent folks in Hollywood, California. But the scope of the loss of life at
Jonestown in Guyana gave us pause. And with some solemnity and sobriety,
we have tried to make sense out of what sometimes appears to be
incomprehensible. While the life trajectory of a cultic group is not entirely – or
even moderately – predictable, it has become clear over time that ideological
extremism holds within it the potential for violent outcomes. This address will
look at some of the events that have taken place in the past 30 years, and
offer a framework of understanding as well as elicit points of interest for
future discussion and research.
People who know of me—rather than knowing me personally—know two things about me: I
have a name that on first glance looks difficult to pronounce, and, for the past 20 years,
I‘ve been studying cults. Let me explain both.
As the daughter of Serbian immigrants—there‘s the first explanation—I wasn‘t supposed to
go to college. My ―old-country‖ father thought girls were put on this earth to get married
and have healthy Serbian babies, preferably boy babies. But I had different dreams and was
fortunate enough to grow up in a time when college was affordable and scholarships were
plentiful. I went off to school and completed a B.A. with Honors at the University of
Wisconsin, followed by a Fulbright fellowship at the Université d‘Aix-en-Provence in the
south of France. Afterward, I decided not to pursue graduate studies and went to live and
work in New York City, then spent four years or so living on a Spanish island, and
eventually settled in San Francisco. It was the late ‘60s-early ‘70s and I was a free spirit,
with lifelong aspirations of being a writer.
Why do I tell you all this? Because then I joined a cult!
If, back in 1974, anyone had ever told me that smart, independent, wise-cracking, hard-
headed me would one day be under someone‘s thumb, I would have surely laughed and
said, ―No, not me!‖ But yes, me—and I give this background in part to shatter the enduring
myth that only the weak-willed and stupid could ever be in a cult.
For 10-plus years I lived in an extremely controlled and restrictive environment, a true
believer in the idea that I had found my destiny and was working toward positive ends. I,
with my comrades, but only because of our leader, was going to change the world—when in
fact about the only thing that got changed was me. And not only was I brainwashed—a
word I use intentionally, and which I‘ll come back to later—but I was one of the main
brainwashers in my group!
